Jets Hand Coyotes 12th-Straight Loss

It wasn't pretty, but it worked.

Mark Scheifele (one goal, two assists), Gabe Vilardi (one goal, one assist) and Kyle Connor (one assist) combined for six first period points, as the Winnipeg Jets hung on to take care of business in a Central Division tilt against the Arizona Coyotes from Canada Life Centre on Sunday evening. 

The loss was the Coyotes' 12th-straight, while Winnipeg earned its sixth win in its past seven outings. 

“They were fresher than we were, there’s no question," Rick Bowness said. "They were fresher and desperate... When you’ve lost 11 games in a row and you haven’t played since Wednesday, it showed. The desperation was there, they were rested and they put a lot of pressure on (us)."

It wasn't the Jets' prettiest game, nor was it the most entertaining, but the home team capitalized on a strong first period, collapsed in the middle stages, before coming back for a 4-3 overtime victory on Connor's second-straight winner on Sunday.

One might say the game perfectly encapsulated Winnipeg's 2023-24 season thus far. 

“I think when we got up, we stopped playing our game," Scheifele said postgame. "We stopped being sharp with the puck, getting passes, supporting each other. We started getting a little bit disconnected and they made us pay.”

Scheifele finished the game with four points, Morrissey and three, while Vilardi and Connor each had two points on the night. 

The Jets opened the scoring just 2:06 into the game, as Josh Morrissey and Mark Scheifele combined for a unique scoring setup. Winnipeg's star blueliner dumped the puck hard off the end boards, which bounced perfectly to Scheifele, who outwaited Connor Ingram before putting the puck into the back of the net.

“We kind of made eye contact a little bit, so I think he kind of knew," Scheifele laughed. "I don’t know if he knew that it was going to work out that well, but obviously a very, very cagey play by him.”

Nino Niederreiter took a goaltender interference penalty midway through the period, and Arizona capitalized shortly thereafter. 

Although he didn't get an assist on the play, Clayton Keller got things going for the visitors, as he found Jason Zucker alone on the side of the Jets' net. But as opposed to shooting it, Zucker went cross-ice to Dylan Guenther. His shot hit Connor Hellebuyck and dropped onto the stick of Nick Schmaltz, who tapped the rebound home 48 seconds into the power play.

Then, with 5:28 left in the period, Vilardi drew the first of back-to-back interference minors, to which Winnipeg scored twice.

The first power play unit go the job done on both occasions. First, it was Connor, who found his team-leading 22nd of the season just 13 seconds into the man advantage. Scheifele fed the puck to Vilardi down low, who found Connor all alone at the top of the crease. He hammered it home, giving the Jets a 2-1 lead.

Then it was Guenther's interference on DeMelo that led to Vilardi's power play strike. He scored on a patient netfront spin move, burying a nice setup play from Scheifele, putting the home team up by a commanding 3-1 score through 20 minutes.

But it was a strong period from the Coyotes that brought the two teams to within just one goal as they headed into the third period at 3-2.

Shortly after Adam Lowry missed on a perfect breakaway feed from Nikolaj Ehlers, the Jets found themselves trapped in their own end, leading to the Coyotes' strike. Matias Maccelli redirected a Juuso Valimaki shot-pass on the doorstep, beating Hellebuyck cleanly on a play which Winnipeg was clearly gassed. 

The Jets followed up a 14-10 shot lead through 20 minutes with a 25-20 lead after 40 minutes of play. 

But for the second-straight period it was an early goal from Arizona that breathed new life into the visitors. This time it was a Nino Niederreiter giveaway behind the net, to which Alex Kerfoot found Schmaltz alone in front for his second of the game.

The goal was Schmaltz's 15th of the season and knotted things up at threes with nearly an entire period left to play. 

The rest of the period seemed to drag by for Winnipeg, which didn't seem to have anything left in the tank. Both clubs called timeouts over the final two minutes of the frame, but nothing came of either set play, with the two teams requiring an overtime period to find a winner.

After pulling ahead to a 3-1 lead, Winnipeg allowed the 28th-place Coyotes to claw back with goals in the second and third, ultimately tying the game at threes before needing overtime to finish things off. 

For the second-straight game, it was Kyle Connor who got the winner. After two Coyotes crashed into the Jets' end boards, the trio of Morrissey, Scheifele and Connor worked their way up the ice, with Connor blasting home his 23rd of the season on a perfectly executed three-on-one just 33 seconds into the frame, winning it for Winnipeg.

“He’s hitting it well and he’s going to the right areas," Scheifele said of Connor. "He’s making a lot of little plays that not a lot of people see. He’s been fun to play with. I love playing with him, but we’ve just gotta keep going.”

Hellebuyck finished the night with 29 saves on the 32 Coyotes shots he faced, while Ingram turned aside 28 of the 32 pucks the Jets fired his way.

Next up for the Jets is the second game of the miniature two-game homestand from Canada Life Centre, as the St. Louis Blues roll into town for a Tuesday night affair. The 7:00 PM central start also marks the third of five-straight games against the Central Division.